THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT, NOT A REQUEST FOR A PROPOSAL. A SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED AND PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE REQUESTED. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Office of Acquisition (OA), on behalf of The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), intends to negotiate and award a purchase order on a noncompetitive sole source basis to BD Biosciences, 2350 Qume Drive, San Jose, CA 95131-1807 for an upgrade to the FACSAria II Cell Sorter System - S/N P18200015 (operated by the NIAMS Flow Cytometry Service), with the following project description: - Field Upgrade – Straightforward installation on FACSAria II by BD Biosciences Service Engineer - Installation of “X-mount” Optical Plate – to accommodate expansion to five lasers and four spatially separated beam spots - Installation of improved performance flow cell (gel-coupled cuvette) with 375nm laser upgrade - Addition of octagon detection system with 4 PMT’s for 561nm laser upgrade including all optics and digital acquisition electronics The sole source determination is based on the fact that BD Biosciences is the sole vendor to provide the proposed equipment upgrade for the FACSAria II Cell Sorter. The NIAMS FACSAria II is currently covered by an annual BD Biosciences service agreement and any modifications done to the instrument by a third party violates the service contract currently in effect and could disallow any future coverage. Moreover, no third party vendor has access to the updated parts (X-mount, flow cell) proprietary to BD Biosciences, which are included in the laser upgrade package. The delivery point is the National Institutes of Health (NIH), The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), 10 Center Drive, Building 10, Room 6D57, Bethesda, MD 20814. The notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Industry Classification (NAICS) Code is 334516, Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing, and is not a small business set aside. The acquisition is being conducted under FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures, therefore the requirements of FAR Part 6, Competitive Requirements, are not applicable and the resultant purchase order will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 05-41 (May 13, 2010). Interested parties may identify their interest and capabilities in response to this synopsis by June 30th, 2010 at 7:30am Eastern Standard Time. The determination by the Government not to compete the proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct future competitive procurement. Inquiries to this announcement, referencing synopsis number NHLBI-PB-(AR)-2010-188-JML, may be submitted to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Office of Acquisition, Procurement Branch, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Suite 6149, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7902, Attention: Jonathan Lear. Responses may be submitted electronically to [email protected]. Faxes will not be accepted. Responses will only be accepted if dated and signed by an authorized company representative.

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